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In Desert and Wilderness
In Desert and Wilderness

Chapter XVI

Chapter 16 of In Desert and Wilderness is here in full — 378 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Cover illustration for In Desert and Wilderness
Context Illustration Reading 1/75 · 5 lines
English subtitles · tap any word to listen 1 / 5
At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.
"Mea wants to die together with Kali."
A long silence followed.
In the meantime the sun set and night covered the region.
The sky became dark-blue.
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Speed 0.75x
AI-generated narration by OpenAI · Slow US English
LEARNER DICTIONARY
Archivist
/ˈɑːrkɪvɪst/
Editorial verification pending

A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.

In Desert and Wilderness

Chapter XVI

Chapter 16 of In Desert and Wilderness is here in full — 378 sentences across 76 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.

Reading 1/75 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5

Line 1
At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.
Line 2
"Mea wants to die together with Kali."
Line 3
A long silence followed.
/ə lɔːŋ ˈsaɪ.ləns ˈfɑːloʊd/
Line 4
In the meantime the sun set and night covered the region.
/ɪn ðə ˈmiːntaɪm ðə sʌn set ənd naɪt ˈkʌvərd ðə ˈriːdʒən/
Line 5
The sky became dark-blue.

Learner Dictionary

These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.

Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.

easiest adjective US /ˈiːziəst/

superlative of “easy” — posing no difficulty; requiring little effort

From this reading “At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.”

embracing noun US /emˈbreɪsɪŋ/

the act of clasping another person in the arms (as in greeting or affection)

From this reading “At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.”

endured verb US /enˈdjʊrd/

past form of “endure” — put up with something or somebody unpleasant

From this reading “At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.”

Kali noun US /ˈkɑːliː/

bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves; burned to produce a crude soda ash

From this reading “"Mea wants to die together with Kali."”

meantime noun US /ˈmiːntaɪm/

the time between one event, process, or period and another

From this reading “In the meantime the sun set and night covered the region.”

melodious adjective US /məˈloʊdiəs/

having a musical sound; especially a pleasing tune

From this reading “At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.”

region noun US /ˈriːdʒən/

the extended spatial location of something

From this reading “In the meantime the sun set and night covered the region.”

thirst noun US /θɜːrst/

a physiological need to drink

From this reading “At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.”

Word partnerships in these lines

English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.

Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.

melodious voice adjective + noun

In this reading “At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.”

In the meantime preposition + article + noun counted as “in … meantime”

during the intervening time

In this reading “In the meantime the sun set and night covered the region.”

unknown reason adjective + noun

In this reading “At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.”

long silence adjective + noun

In this reading “A long silence followed.”

All words in this reading · 50

Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.

Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.

AdeterminerUS /ə/

used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one

From this reading A long silence followed.

alladjectiveUS /ɔːl/

(quantifier) used with either mass or count nouns to indicate the whole number or amount of or every one of a class

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

andeterminerUS /æn/

the form of “a” used before a word that begins with a vowel sound

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

andconjunctionUS /ənd/

used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

approachedverbUS /əˈproʊtʃt/

past form of “approach” — move towards

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

armsnounUS /ɑːrmz/

weapons considered collectively

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

AtprepositionUS /æt/

in or near a particular place or position

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

becameverbUS /bɪˈkeɪm/

inflected form of “become” — enter or assume a certain state or condition

From this reading The sky became dark-blue.

closeadjectiveUS /kloʊs/

at or within a short distance in space or time or having elements near each other

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

coveredadjectiveUS /ˈkʌvərd/

overlaid or spread or topped with or enclosed within something; sometimes used as a combining form

From this reading In the meantime the sun set and night covered the region.

dark-blueadjective

of a dark shade of blue

From this reading The sky became dark-blue.

dieverbUS /daɪ/

pass from physical life and lose all bodily attributes and functions necessary to sustain life

From this reading "Mea wants to die together with Kali."

easiestadjectiveUS /ˈiːziəst/

superlative of “easy” — posing no difficulty; requiring little effort

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

embracingnounUS /emˈbreɪsɪŋ/

the act of clasping another person in the arms (as in greeting or affection)

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

enduredverbUS /enˈdjʊrd/

past form of “endure” — put up with something or somebody unpleasant

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

followedverbUS /ˈfɑːloʊd/

past form of “follow” — to travel behind, go after, come after

From this reading A long silence followed.

forprepositionUS /fɔːr/

intended to be given to, or used by, somebody

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

herdeterminerUS /hɜːr/

belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

himpronounUS /hɪm/

the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

hisdeterminerUS /hɪz/

belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

inprepositionUS /ɪn/

inside something, or within a place, period, or state

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

KalinounUS /ˈkɑːliː/

bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves; burned to produce a crude soda ash

From this reading "Mea wants to die together with Kali."

leastadjectiveUS /liːst/

the superlative of “little” that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by “the”; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

longadjectiveUS /lɔːŋ/

primarily temporal sense; being or indicating a relatively great or greater than average duration or passage of time or a duration as specified

From this reading A long silence followed.

Mea

Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

meantimenounUS /ˈmiːntaɪm/

the time between one event, process, or period and another

From this reading In the meantime the sun set and night covered the region.

melodiousadjectiveUS /məˈloʊdiəs/

having a musical sound; especially a pleasing tune

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

necknounUS /nek/

the part of an organism (human or animal) that connects the head to the rest of the body

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

nightnounUS /naɪt/

the time after sunset and before sunrise while it is dark outside

From this reading In the meantime the sun set and night covered the region.

ofprepositionUS /ʌv/

belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

quietadjectiveUS /ˈkwaɪət/

characterized by an absence or near absence of agitation or activity

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

reasonnounUS /ˈriːzən/

a rational motive for a belief or action

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

regionnounUS /ˈriːdʒən/

the extended spatial location of something

From this reading In the meantime the sun set and night covered the region.

saidadjectiveUS /sed/

being the one previously mentioned or spoken of

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

satnounUS /sæt/

the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

setverbUS /set/

put into a certain place or abstract location

From this reading In the meantime the sun set and night covered the region.

silencenounUS /ˈsaɪ.ləns/

Complete absence of sound; a state of quietness and stillness.

From this reading A long silence followed.

skynounUS /skaɪ/

the atmosphere and outer space as viewed from the earth

From this reading The sky became dark-blue.

sufferedverbUS /ˈsʌfərd/

past form of “suffer” — undergo or be subjected to

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

sunnounUS /sʌn/

the star that is the source of light and heat for the planets in the solar system

From this reading In the meantime the sun set and night covered the region.

thedeterminerUS /ðə/

used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

thirstnounUS /θɜːrst/

a physiological need to drink

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

thisdeterminerUS /ðɪs/

used for a person or thing that is near, or that has just been mentioned

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

toparticleUS /tuː/

used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

togetheradverbUS /təˈɡeðər/

in contact with each other or in proximity

From this reading "Mea wants to die together with Kali."

unknownadjectiveUS /ənˈnoʊn/

not known

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

voicenounUS /vɔɪs/

the distinctive quality or pitch or condition of a person's speech

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

wantsnounUS /wɑːnts/

plural of “want” — a state of extreme poverty

From this reading "Mea wants to die together with Kali."

whopronounUS /huː/

which person or people

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

withprepositionUS /wɪð/

in the company of; together with

From this reading At this, Mea, who for an unknown reason endured thirst the easiest and suffered the least of all, approached, sat close to him, and, embracing his neck with her arms, said in her quiet, melodious voice.

Chapter 16 of In Desert and Wilderness by Henryk Sienkiewicz holds 378 sentences, grouped into 76 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.

What does chapter 16 of In Desert and Wilderness contain?

Chapter 16 holds 378 sentences of In Desert and Wilderness, unabridged, divided into 76 reading sections.

This page carries chapter 16 of In Desert and Wilderness by Henryk Sienkiewicz exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 378 sentences, grouped into 76 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.

How do I study chapter 16 of In Desert and Wilderness?

Work through the 76 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.

Each of the 76 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.

Can chapter 16 be read aloud to me?

Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 16 can be played aloud in United States English.

Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.

Questions about reading In Desert and Wilderness

Common questions about reading In Desert and Wilderness by Henryk Sienkiewicz on this page, its source edition and its audio.

Is this the complete text of In Desert and Wilderness?

Yes. All 6230 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #30365 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.

Which edition of In Desert and Wilderness is used?

Project Gutenberg eBook #30365, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.

How long does In Desert and Wilderness take to read?

About 519 minutes of reading across 1246 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.

How to read In Desert and Wilderness section by section

How to work through In Desert and Wilderness section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.

  1. Open a chapter

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  2. Read one section

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  3. Listen and tap

    Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.

Vocabulary met early in In Desert and Wilderness

Words and structures a reader meets early in In Desert and Wilderness, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.

Author
A word that appears in the opening chapter of In Desert and Wilderness; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Sword
A word that appears in the opening chapter of In Desert and Wilderness; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Vadis
A word that appears in the opening chapter of In Desert and Wilderness; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
Whirlpools
A word that appears in the opening chapter of In Desert and Wilderness; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.